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With the first cases of chikungunya fever transmitted within the United States confirmed last week, local mosquito and public health experts are urging residents to take precautions to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.

On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health confirmed two locally acquired cases of the viral disease — one in a 41-year-old woman who lives in Miami-Dade County and the other in a 50-year-old man who is a Palm Beach County resident.

The man had not traveled out of the area in the past year, according to Palm Beach County Health Department spokesman Tim O’Connor.

The disease is spread by being bitten by an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. Chikungunya causes flu-like symptoms and is most likely to cause stronger reactions in people who are very young; who are age 65 or older; or who have chronic conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. It is not life-threatening.

It also is not contagious from person to person. However, Aedes mosquitoes — day biters that can lay eggs in small containers of water — can spread the disease by biting an infected person and later biting someone else.

The virus traveled from West Africa and India to the Caribbean, arriving in 2013, said Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Palm Beach County Health Department.

By June of this year, more than 150,000 cases had been documented there, and conditions are ripe for it to spread locally, she said.

“ We have the perfect mix here in South Florida because we have lots of travelers, we have the vector — which is the mosquitoes, and we have the right conditions for the transmission to occur,” Alonso said. “We have to be very vigilant.”

Recent heavy rains have hampered efforts to reduce mosquitoes through spraying, said Gary Goode, an environmental analyst with the county’s mosquito control division.

The so-called “container” mosquitoes that live in eastern Palm Beach County are day fliers, including the Aedes mosquito. “They live in buckets, bird baths, clogged-up gutters, you name it,” Goode said.

Educating people, about how to eliminate spots where mosquitoes breed and about how to protect themselves, is the most effective way to reduce infestations in the more populated regions of the county, Goode said.

On Tuesday, the Town Council decided to continue relying on the county for mosquito control, rather than starting an in-house program.

Alonso recommends that residents wear long-sleeved shirts and pants or use a repellent containing DEET when outdoors, especially around dawn and dusk. Other precautions include making sure screens are intact on windows and doors and removing all sources of standing water.

Those who have symptoms of chikungunya fever — which includes sudden onset of a fever greater than 102 degrees, severe joint pain mainly in the arms and legs, along with headache, muscle pain and rash — should see a doctor, Alsono said.

“We are doing special blood tests to see if you have the disease,” she said. “And, in that case, we give you the precautions so you don’t expose yourself to the rest of the community by getting exposed to mosquitoes again.”

TO REPORT MOSQUITOES

Residents can call Gary Goode’s office — at 967-6480 — if they witness excessive infestations of mosquitoes. Staff will inspect a property and identify breeding spots to eliminate.

Mosquito infestations also can be reported at pbcgov.com/erm/mosquito. That site also is available on the town’s website, townofpalmbeach.com.